Born in Newton, Illinois, on May 18, 1907, Irene Hunt received a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois in 1939 and a master's degree from the University of Minnesota in 1946. She taught French and English in the Oak Park, Illinois, public schools for fifteen years. She then taught at the University of South Dakota for four years before returning to Illinois to work as a teacher and as a consultant in the language arts in Cicero.

Hunt has garnered several awards for her books for young adults, including the Charles W. Follett in 1964 and the American Notable Book Award in 1965, both for Across Five Aprils, which was also the single runner-up for the Newbery Medal in 1965. Up a Road Slowly won that medal in 1967.